What will the neighbors think?

So we went looking for Christmas light displays and look what we found. The first two are at the same house and there was a third song I somehow missed. My videography isn't the best sorry.
When you pull up to the house there are signs directing you to tune your FM radio to a certain station. Then there is a 2 minute blurb about only watching the three songs and coming back later, respecting neighbors, and how the display was made. Pretty impressive, but I'm still glad I don't live next door. (And as a special bonus you get to hear me shush my children!)

Now if you really like your neighbors you can decorate with them: (Oh and the music and commentary here is provided by us).

Merry Christmas and to all a good night

Well, I am getting ready in about half an hour to wake the little ones to prepare for Midnight Mass (the moment we look forward to every year). But we started the evening with the best Christmas presents -- Nana and Aunt Katie put together photo albums for each child and Nana says she wants each one to come over at the end of the year and do another page with her. Then we had Chinese food with Nana, Katie, Blue Truck, Aunt Nancy, and Uncle Ed. We returned home and put everyone to bed. Then I decided to decorate Jesus' Birthday cake as I really don't like to do those while the kids are hovering. And guess what I backed up the sink rinsing RED icing off of dishes. (I am very grateful for a loving and understanding husband -- although at that point I was just glad I had a husband.) So some pictures to remember the evening by:

Christmas Tree Decorating

If I don't post tomorrow,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Epiphany

We, as many of you know, exchange gifts as an immediate family on Epiphany. We would do it on the 6th, but usually Mass that day is less than triumphant so we do it on Epiphany Sunday. Usually I make a king cake, one that most people are familiar with at Mardi Gras. Actually a king cake is typically made by one person on Epiphany and whoever gets that baby makes the cake on Mardi Gras. But I was tired this year and my king cake recipe involves yeast and braiding and we didn't do a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas so we did a quasi-one on epiphany. Thus the trip to the candy store.



We decorated the Christmas tree when we got home from Colorado. PG continued to tell us, "Tree in my h-ou-se."

We also decorated the table and ledge in the kitchen. The nativity set is from Bethlehem.



The kids enjoyed opening presents and PG loves cars.

DG's Christmas Poem

The Helgoth Christmas Party

I was an only child for 13 years. My parents came from families of 4 and 5 kids. I wasn't use to big family get-togethers. Christmas was my parents and I until my sister was born. Occasionally we spent a Christmas with some other relatives (my dad's) but usually not. So when I met Blake and heard his dad was one of 10 kids, I had no idea what to imagine. I have had several experiences of the Helgoth clan now and I love it. But a Christmas party with everyone there, a kid's gift exchange, Mexican food, and a white elephant gift exchange for the adults was one of the most fun, funny, and greatest experiences of family I have had yet. Oh and I wish I had gotten a picture of my father-in-law (calm, quiet, gentle) stealing a gift from his aunt. You'd have to know him and see her to know how funny it all was, but trust me I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.
The car ride there.
Don't you know they are up to something?

Ok, she stold this from Blake. It plays "White Christmas" while the dog pees on the snowman and the snowman has a yellow light inside that lights up where the dog pees.

I didn't know I was related to Cinderella.

He got a game that is for people over 30. That is the tag line.

She got black light silly string. Her mom stole her Starbucks gift card. Her own mother!

Ok this dog has real fur. I didn't get the picture when she stuck her hand in the box. She looked like she might puke. I did however get the next 30 seconds or so on film.

Ok Christmas Day, finally

We spent Christmas day at my parents in Colorado Springs. My mom has not spent Christmas with her parents since two years before she got married. The year before she went to my dad's parents' house. All her siblings (except her sister that passed away from cancer two years ago) were there. It was great. My husband's parents were there too. RA did throw up that night, but she recouped quickly. Good thing too; we flew home the next morning. Christmas day was great, though.

DG's chess set

My Mom and her dad

The kids headed to the tree

I think this was a hug

Blake's mom, RA and "Isabella", and Katie

My mom's sister, their mom, and my mom

The family

Now for Christmas - or at least part

We spent the third week of Advent and Christmas Day in Colorado this year, with my mom's whole family and Blakes' parents and his dad's family (more of the Helgoth Christmas party to come later). Anyway, the first day in Colorado we visited my grandparents, Grandpa Bill and Grandma Ethel. Who RA affectionately calls Grandma and Grandpa Bill. So that the kids would have things to play with while they were there, Grandma gave them present early.

DG loves his Scrabble Jr.
RA loved her musical jewelry box so much she kept giving my grandma random hugs every time she looked at it.

I have taken a picture of everyone of my kids sitting in Grandpa Bill's lap. Here is PG.

Christmas ?s

From Beth
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, with Pepermint schnapps.

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? No Santa but Epiphany presents are wrapped under the tree on Epiphany morning. - unless they are too big to be wrapped.

Colored lights on tree or white? Purple till the third Sunday of Advent then colored.

When do you put your decorations up? Advent-the 1st Sunday/Saturday night of Advent, Christmas -the 3rd Sunday of Advent

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Mashed potatoes

Favorite Holiday memory as a child: My dad is a physician and one year he knew he would be at the hospital all Christmas day so he and my mom woke me up early on Christmas morning to open gifts and then the thought was I would go back to bed - yeah right. Anyway, I always thought it was neat that my parents had to wake me up.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was really old - 10. I was an only child untill 13 and I never had anyone say anything to me until I asked my mom.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I always got to open 1 gift. And my parents would usually suggest something and it would end up being pajamas.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? My mom saved all my Christmas ornaments and gave them to me when I got married.

Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it!!! Although I don't love that it melts and turns brown in Indiana.

Can you ice skate? I don't fall often, but my husband played hockey as a kid and one of my favorite things is going skating with him

Do you remember your favorite gift? Christmas gift-that is hard. Hmm, I got knee high black boots in highschool. Those were pretty cool.

What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Keeping Christ in Christmas and celebrating the whole season not just one day.

What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Cranberry pie - my husband's recipe

What is your favorite tradition? When I was a kid, Santa wouldn't wrap gifts so before we could go see what we got my dad would bring orange juice to the bed room and we would sit on my parents' bed and everyone would have to finish thier orange juice before we could go see what we got and my parents would torcher us by drinking their orange juice really slow.
As an adult, I love mid-night Mass.

Which do you prefer, Giving or Receiving? Giving!!!! I always want people to open the presents I got them more than I want to open what I got.

What is your favorite Christmas Song? The Gloria at Christmas Mass or Let Me Be Your Bethelehem by Danielle Rose or Breathe of Heaven by Amy Grant - I'm not very traditional. But if I could I would listen to Christmas music all year.

Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I love red and white candy canes.

Ever recycled a Christmas present? Oh sure.

I'm tagging anyone who wants to play! Come on, you know you want to.

No Christmas?

Tonight we were doing our tradtional Advent bedtime routine: family rosary, Jesse tree ornaments with Bible reading, followed by a chapter of the Best Christmas Pagent Ever (a little old for my kids and a litte too mean spirited but I love it too much not to share it with them). Before the Jesse Tree reading, RA said, "Mom, I have a question. Why don't we put all the Jesse Tree ornaments up on one night?"
I explained to her that it is to remind us that each of the people we talk about spent their whole lives waiting for Jesus (he didn't come quick) in fact none of them lived to see Jesus. She looked at me with really big eyes and said, "They didn't have Christmas?" She was agast.
I said, "No, their lives were all Advent."
Only a child can cause us to stop and meditate on the meaning of this season, in a way we hadn't thought of quite like that before.

Advent Traditions

So since Christmas isn't quite upon us the Helgoths have some Advent Traditions. First is the Jesse Tree. Our tree goes up the first Sunday of Advent and we decorate it with purple lights, ribbon, and snowflakes (I found them all three years ago at Target). Then each day of advent we add a Jesse Tree ornament. For the past two years, we have been part of an exchange so I think I have all the ornaments now. This is totally the way to do it, because then you just have to make two different types of ornaments for however many people instead of making 28ish different ornaments. Great chart for ornaments at http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html.
Then on the third Sunday of Advent we take down the purple and put up the Christmas lights and decorations. The kids like leaving the Jesse Tree ornaments. The 3rd Sunday of Advent is also when we start listening to Christmas music.
We don't do Santa in our house. Another day for the why of that. But on the feast of St. Nicholas (Dec. 6th) the kids get their stockings filled.
We also have a creche (crib) under the tree for Jesus. It is filled with good deeds. Last year, we put in straw for each of our good deeds as mom and dad saw them and took some out if the need arose (ok when the need arose). This year we have a sacrifice jar. Each night they chose a strip of paper with a sacrifice they can make the next day. If they do it, they get to put straw in the creche.
Our letters to Santa are letters to Jesus asking for gifts: material and spiritual. We exchange gifts as immediate family on Epiphany and if no extended family is around we open their gifts then too. Christmas day we try to have a birthday party for Jesus!
We also have an Advent wreath and there are these great seek and find Advent books we use each day. http://www.printeryhouse.org/ProdPage.asp?Prod=DYK&cat=226.
Oh and you can still sign up for Holy Heros Advent Adventure. They send a daily email with activities and videos. It makes it really easy! http://www.holyheroes.com/.
Happy Advent!